Here is my critical self reflection for this music video project. This blog post is written by me (Beatrice).
According to the brief set by Cambridge, students are required to create a music promotion package, which included a music video, social media page, and digipak. Our team decided to cover Billie Eilish's song called "Birds of a Feather" that falls under the indie-pop genre. We also decided to create a fictional indie pop artist named Jasmine, alongside her feature in the song, Viola. We've decided that these two stars will be artists that has a similar genre and target audience, so they'll be able to work with each other better.
Branding in the media refers to the way a media product establishes a clear and recognizable identity across different platforms by using consistent themes, aesthetics, and messages to create a strong connection with the audience. According to Stuart Hall's Reception theory, branding helps encode meaning that audiences can associate with the artist through all forms of media, being able to receive the star's preferred meaning. Our branding remains consistent by featuring Jasmine's artwork across all of our products. (Fig 1.0) from the music video, (Fig 1.1) digipak, and (Fig 1.2) social media page. This encodes our star as creative and fun. Moreover, posting these on her social media page gives the impression our star is still just an ordinary person, making her feel more relatable, which conforms to the convention of indie pop artist's personality. Richard Dyer's Stardom theory states that stars are constructed by the media, rather than real people, so we've carefully constructed Jasmine's REEL persona by prioritizing personal over promotional contents in Jasmine's social media to make her appear more down-to-earth (Fig 1.4). Even in professional posts, our captioning remains consistent in maintaining Jasmine’s youthful and relatable brand identity. This is achieved through using informal language, emojis, direct mode of address, and a lowercase writing style, mirroring how teenagers typically communicate online. Since our target audience consists of teenagers and young adults aged 16 - 22, these choices enhances Jasmine’s authenticity and appeal.
To make sure that we understand the genre conventions of the genre that we're working with, I have conducted an in-depth research on indie and pop music video, which allows us to make decisions on whether to conform or subvert to these expectations. We conformed to the representations of social groups of teenage girls by including activities they typically engage in, such as hanging out while collecting shells at the beach (Fig 2.0) and having matching bracelets (Fig 2.1). According to Barthes' Semiotics theory, these elements act as symbolic codes, as the bracelets signify the strength of their friendship, (which is why it shows that Viola was still wearing it at the end of the music video), while the beach setting connotes freedom and nostalgia. The whole music video also shows how much time she spends with her best friend, which is a common and relatable issue in every teenage girl’s life, reflecting how teenage girls often feel safer when they have someone to rely on. It is represented positively, as the star lives a better life with the support of her best friend. This aligns with Gauntlett’s Identity Theory, as the narrative provides a mirror for the audience’s own friendships and emotions. Audiences may recognize themselves in the narrative, as they use media to explore their own sense of identity and relationships.
Synergy is when media companies collaborate for mutual benefit. Our music video follows this by featuring another star called Viola, which conforms to indie pop conventions, where artists often collaborate to gain more audience (e.g, Clairo and Beabadoobee's Glue Song remix in 2023). This will boost audience interactions. Moreover, we created a friendship-based narrative to convey the bittersweet feeling of graduating high school, since we felt that if we relate to the narrative, we could authentically convey it. We conform to indie pop's convention by using narrative about friendships. However, according to Steve Neale’s Genre theory, ‘a text must conform to the conventions enough to be recognizable, yet subvert them enough to be different and interesting.' So to subvert the typical self-introspection and peaceful friendship narratives, we incorporated a direct fight scene between Jasmine and Viola, making the emotional conflict more tangible rather than implied. While indie pop often portrays friendships through subtle distance or longing, we challenge it by adding dramatic tension, which highlights the raw emotions of growing up, misunderstandings, and the bittersweet nature of change.
Our digipak mostly conforms to the conventions of indie pop digipak design, which often features minimalistic and hand-crafted elements to create an authentic feel. To align with this aesthetic, we used a collage technique that gives the design an abstract and personal quality. Additionally, we included handwritten words to reinforcing the unpolished aesthetic that is typical of the indie pop genre. We also applied visible paper textures, which add depth and a tactile quality to the design to make it feel more handcrafted. (Fig 3.0) However, we also chose to subvert certain expectations by using a expressive handwriting style instead of the delicate cursive fonts that are commonly used in indie pop album covers. I believe this decision adds a more contemporary edge to the design while still maintaining its handmade feel.
Our music video represents teenagers and young adults that are experiencing the transition from adolescence to adulthood, which is a phase that is often filled with a sense of nostalgia, uncertainty, and emotional highs and lows. While media typically idealizes this period by presenting a singular emotional tone (such as pure happiness or sadness), we subvert this by blending both joy and conflict that comes with growing up. An example of how we convey this is through visual narrative and technical elements. Idealized memories of youth are shown through happy moments during high school, however these are contrasted with the fight scene to emphasizes the emotional contradictions of growing up. We use cooler tones in the fight scene (Fig 4.0), as it connotes sadness and emotional distance, whereas the happier scenes are presented with a warmer color tone (Fig 4.1), as it often connotes joy and comfort. This reinforces Barthes' idea that colours can function as symbolic code. Additionally, the high-angle shot of Jasmine crying (Fig 4.2) emphasizes her loss of control over the friendship breakup, making her appear vulnerable and powerless. By blending these contrasting emotions rather than depicting youth as purely carefree, our music video presents a more realistic representation of adolescence. This dominant reading challenges the overly nostalgic portrayal of youth by acknowledging both its cherished moments and inevitable change. This creates a more realistic representation, allowing our audience to connect with the music video on a personal level. The use of these techniques aligns with Stuart Hall’s Reception theory, as it encourages audiences to actively interpret the meaning based on their own experiences, rather than passively accepting an idealized version of youth.
One of the main ways we engage our audience is through the star’s social media presence. According to Blumler and Katz’s Uses and Gratifications theory, audiences actively seek media that fulfills their needs. In this case, social media provides an opportunity for fans to develop a sense of social connection. The comment section allows fans to engage not only with the artist but also with each other, which fosters a sense of community through shared interests. It also allows them to share their opinion about the contents that are posted by our star. This aligns with Clay Shirky's End of Audience theory, where he suggests that passive audience no longer exists in the digital age, because instead of simply consuming media, audiences are now active participants who create, share, and interact with content. Additionally, our star occasionally interacts with fans by liking or responding to their comments (Fig 5.0), creating a more personal and interactive experience. To further enhance audience engagement, our star’s social media page includes personal posts that showcase her REAL persona, such as OOTD (outfit of the day) photos, selfies, and product she used (Fig 5.1). This type of content allows audiences to see aspects of themselves in the star or aspire to their lifestyle. Through this, the star strengthens parasocial relationships with their audience. Due to the constantly evolving technologies, social media allows real-time interactions and story features, which have made this level of engagement possible. These tools ensure that the audience remains consistently connected with the artist.
In conclusion, our music promotion package has conveyed our dominant reading effectively. By blending nostalgia with conflict in the narrative, we've created a relatable narrative that resonates with out target audience. Our branding also reinforced Jasmine's REEL persona that we've created, which strengthened our audience engagement. One thing I would do to improve next time is following the schedule instead of spontaneously working on this project, as our lack of time management has led me to rush through our project until the very last minute, in which I feel like I could've produced a better quality of product if there were enough time.
(Fig 1.0) - Music Video
(Fig 1.1) - Digipak
(Fig 1.3) - Instagram Highlight dedicated to Jasmine's artworks.
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